Fundamentals Of Solid State (Second Edition, 1979)

by: Rowe, Jamieson

Publication date: 1979-01

Topics: electronics, electronics australia, solid state, semiconductors

Publisher: Electronics Australia

Collection: opensource

Language: English

Fundamentals of Solid State (Second Edition)

An introduction to semiconductors and their applications.

An 'Electronics Australia' Handbook

Much of the material in this book was first published in the monthly magazine “Electronics Australia”, as a series of articles. In both the original articles and the present book I have attempted to provide a basic introduction to modern semiconductor devices and their operation. An introduction not just for the service technician and the electronics hobbyist, who perhaps may never wish to delve into the subject in greater depth, but also for the university or technical college student who may need a broad introduction to semiconductor concepts before plunging into the mathematics.

There are many other introductory books on this subject, but most fall into two broad groups. In one group are the very elementary books, which are very easy to read and understand but generally don’t give you much more than a very superficial understanding. In the other group are books written for the college student, which tend to assume that the reader has a thorough grasp of solid state physics and advanced calculus.

In this case I have tried to steer a middle course. The book starts at a very basic level, and doesn’t deal with the mathematics of solid state physics at all; yet at the same time it tries to present many of the concepts normally found only in the more advanced books. Concepts like the nature of a crystal lattice, energy bands, carrier diffusion and drift, and so on.

To a certain extent the inclusion of these concepts may tend to make the book less easy to read. However I believe this is justified by the richer and more satisfying insight they give into device operation. In any case I have tried to present these concepts in particular as clearly as possible, to minimise the additional effort required by the reader.

For this second edition, chapter 17 has been completely rewritten to bring the book up to date. The discussion of recent advances in fabrication technology and current development trends represents the situation in January, 1979, as accurately as I have been able to determine it from current overseas journals and a recent trip to California’s “silicon valley”, the world heart of semiconductor manufacture. The glossary has also been revised and updated, to make it of greater potential value.

Needless to say, no book of this type is the work of one person, and I should like to thank a number of people who played important parts in making the present book possible. Many thanks are due to Neville Williams, Editor-in-Chief of “Electronics Australia”, Assistant Editor Phil Watson, and indeed the whole staff of the magazine, whose constructive criticism and friendly advice has surely helped to improve the quality of the text. And I would especially like to thank draftsman Bob Flynn, whose co-operation and involvement extended far beyond the preparation of diagrams.

Jamieson Rowe

January 1979